As we all know, the Trump-Kim meeting has already been a historic event, with great significance for the stability and peace for the Korean Peninsula and for the whole world. What if we take a long-range view and imagine that we have reconvene here 5 years from today, and we look back on the summit, what would we be saying as to what has just happened now? Robert Lawrence Kuhn spoke with Nicholas Fang, Director, Singapore Institute of International Affairs. 

US president Donald Trump and the DPRK’s leader Kim Jong Un walk together before their working lunch during their summit at the Capella Hotel on the resort island of Sentosa, Singapore on June 12, 2018./ VCG Photo

“I am going to take a slightly more optimistic view and say that when we look back, we’re going to say that the criticism and skepticism - criticism about the lack of substantive or conclusive outcomes from the summit -  was a little harsh. I think that the summit has laid the foundations. The world will see that North Korea is more open and more globally engaged, that hopefully has built ties with the US, China, and the rest of the world. That’s the key for economic, social and diplomatic development, rather than relying on the nuclear sword, as it were, to guarantee safety and security. And this kind of solution is going to be more sustainable, more long-term, and professionally better — not just for the Korean peninsula, but for the rest of the region and for the world as well.”